Catamaran Builder News

Catamaran builder Brian Hall is too young to remember when ferries plied the route between Florida and Cuba in the 1950s, but he has plans to be among the first to revive the once-popular route. Boosted by President Barack Obama's policy of seeking to normalize relations with the Communist-ruled island after decades of U.S. isolation, Hall hopes to offer a high-speed catamaran service between the Florida Keys and Havana, perhaps as soon as this year. "My partners and I are ready to start operating as soon as we get the go-ahead," said Hall, 49, president of CubaKat, an offshoot of Fort Lauderdale-based catamaran builder, KonaCat. He is not alone. At least half a dozen Florida companies are seriously considering ferry ventures, with plans to seek licenses from the U.S. Treasury Department.

Anglo-Dutch company Offshore Ship Designers has launched a new offshore wind farm maintenance vessel concept which will improve uptime of deepwater wind turbines and reduce maintenance costs and carbon emissions while offering a solution to the logistics problem of carrying out simultaneous multiple wind turbine maintenance. The Sea-Wind WMV vessel design is for a mother ship which would remain on station in offshore deep-water wind farms providing a safe haven for multiple numbers of catamaran workboats to carry engineers to service the turbines.

Power catamaran builder M2 Motor Yachts is introducing the M257, a 57 ft sportfishing catamaran. With a base price just under $3.5m, the boat will be standard-equipped with Man R800 engines capable of producing a top speed of 58 knots, with a cruising speed of 45 knots. Delivery time will be approximately nine months from order. “In offshore fishing, speed and stability are two keys to a successful boat and tournament campaign. Our new 57 will give the team that wants to win the best opportunity they have ever had,” said M2 Motor Yachts CEO Paul Mihailides. Length, o.a.

Every year, MarineNews chooses a handful of vessels delivered in the past 12 months and bestows upon them the distinction of “Great Boats.” The boats are chosen for innovations in design, construction and utilization. Following are the 17 vessels or groups of vessels chosen as the Great Boats of 2000. Crowley Marine Services delivered Alert, Attentive, and Aware, a series of three 140-ft., 10,000-hp Prevention and Response Tugs (PRTs), to Alyeska Pipeline Service Company in Valdez, Alaska. Specifically designed and developed for Alyeska, the boats will be used by Crowley in the Trans Alaska Pipeline System trade. Alert was deployed in February; Attentive was delivered in June, and Aware was delivered in July.

Making the Tasmanian Award for Export Leadership at the 2007 Tasmanian Export Awards at the Launceston Country Club, Tasmania’s Deputy Premier Steve Kons said Clifford was recognized not only for this significant contribution to industry, but also to the economy, the Tasmanian brand, and to Tasmania’s reputation around the world. “As founder of catamaran builder Incat, Robert has been an important part of our export industry for more than 40 years and Tasmania has benefited greatly from his passion and commitment. “His world-class catamarans are being developed and produced here in Tasmania and are recognized the world over. In the past 13 months Incat has delivered two of its largest vessels to date to opposite sides of the world.